NAGPUR:
Princepal Singh
will realize his American dream as he kick starts his professional basketball career on Wednesday.
Six years after he first touched a basketball, Princepal - son of an electrician in Gurdaspur, Punjab - will become the third Indian hoopster to play in the G-League of
National Basketball Association
(NBA).
The 20-year-old will play for Ignite - one-of-a-kind development team - consisting mostly of NBA Draft prospects from around the world. He is also the first
NBA Academy
India graduate to sign a professional contract with the NBA G League.
Earlier, India's
Satnam Singh
, Palpreet Singh Brar and Amjyot Singh Gill were drafted in the NBA's G-League. While Satnam in 2016-17 and Amjyot in 2019 played for respective G-League teams, Palpreet remained unpicked after he was drafted in 2016. Princepal will be the third Indian hoopster to play in the G-League.
The Punjab youngster is looking forward to the opportunity. "I will give my best in the chances I get," Princepal said.
"This has been such a great opportunity to train with my teammates. All of my teammates are great players. I get to learn a lot from them. How they play and handle themselves on the court," the 6-foot-9 Princepal said, adding that veterans like Donta Hall, Amir Johnson's aggression on court gave him a taste of things to come.
The NBA G League will resume basketball for the first time in nearly 11 months as the 2021 season begins on Wednesday. Each of the 18 teams will play 15 regular-season games. The top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff, which will begin on March 8 and conclude with the NBA G Final on March 11.
Ignite, led by five-time NBA champion Brian Shaw, comprises elite NBA Draft-eligible players as well as League veterans. Princepal and the Ignite will open their 15-game 2021 season against Jeremy Lin and the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Head coach Brian Shaw pointed that Singh has gone from strength-to-strength. "When he got in, I was trying to work him in slowly, but he insisted on jumping right in and trying to get up to speed with what everybody else was doing. I can tell that his confidence is high. He feels good about the work that he's been putting in every day," said Shaw.
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